2014 Football

Bluffton to host Manchester for Samaritan's Feet

October 21, 2014

GREENWOOD, IN – The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference has announced a schedule of football
contests that will benefit Samaritan’s Feet and help provide shoes to impoverished
children across the globe. All nine HCAC football squads will host an event for the
second straight season, beginning on Saturday, September 20.

The Community Service Initiative for the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference
Football Programs is Samaritan’s Feet. Each HCAC football program designates one home
contest to be their Samaritan’s Feet Game. Bluffton’s contest is this Saturday, Oct.
25, when the Beavers host Manchester.

You can support Samaritan’s Feet by donating new shoes, socks, or by giving monetarily. You
can give by dropping off your donation at the concession stand at Saturday’s football
game with Manchester, or at Chris Gable’s desk in the Sommer Center. Samaritan’s Feet
wristbands are also available for purchase for $10 at both locations.

Rod Huber, head coach for the Mount St. Joseph University football team, sparked the
idea among the conference coaches last fall. The conference raised approximately
$7,000 dollars and 75 new pairs of shoes during the 2013 season fundraising event. As
a result of those efforts, every single child from kindergarten through eighth grade
at Padua Academy in Indianapolis was supplied with a brand new pair of shoes, socks,
and a sack pack donated by the Office Depot Foundation.

After Coach Huber visited Africa on a mission trip, he was motivated to find a way
to give back in a meaningful way by helping get shoes to children in need. For the
second straight year, Huber reached out to his fellow head coaches in the HCAC to
garner their support in this effort.

“I cannot tell you how excited I am that the HCAC coaches and their teams have again
committed to hosting a Samaritan’s Feet barefoot movement game,” Huber said. “The
impact a new pair of shoes has on a young person who is shoeless cannot be measured.
Last year, members of the All-HCAC team and coaches who participated in the shoe distribution
in Indianapolis were truly humbled by the event. To see a child smile after receiving
a new pair of socks and shoes from a college football player is priceless,” added
Huber.

Each HCAC school has scheduled a game during the 2014 season to raise awareness and
funds. During a Barefoot Game, Samaritan’s Feet is highlighted in various ways. Often
coaches elect to go through the game without wearing shoes in order to garner attention
towards the 300 million people that go without shoes every day.

“I am very excited about this project and our conferences continued work with Samaritan
Feet,” stated HCAC Commissioner Christopher Ragsdale. “In Division III we are committed
to the development of our student-athlete’s through a comprehensive educational approach;
this approach includes our commitment to the development of future responsible leaders
and citizens in our communities. As such it is incumbent upon us to provide whenever
possible experiences that serve to increase the awareness of the need for strong positive
leadership and the need to make a difference in today’s world.”

The HCAC plans to hold another shoe distribution in Indianapolis at the conclusion
of the football season with members from the All-HCAC football team present. More
details will be released at a later date.

Samaritan’s Feet is a non-profit organization founded by Emmanuel Ohonme in 2003.
Their mission is to equip ten million impoverished children with ten million shoes
in ten years. Since beginning in 2003, Samaritan’s Feet has helped 4 million people
in 60 countries. They also have partnerships with the National Collegiate Athletic
Association (NCAA) and SAAC (Student Athlete Advisory Committee).